Jeremy Sterling: Compromised

But her sense of arousal persisted, and she kept checking the clock to see when she could leave. When the end of her shift arrived, she was the first out the door.

Eric was a little late returning. He worked further away, so she usually beat him home. When she heard the garage door open shortly after six, she quick checked herself in the mirror. Stunning, she thought. She had even put on a g-string that Eric liked, and she looked forward to him discovering she was wearing it. She was damp between her legs in anticipation.

She struck a provocative pose with one leg up on a kitchen chair, and waited for him to enter from the garage.

The door opened, and he saw her. Apparently, he had been looking forward to this all day as well, as he grinned, threw his coat on the floor, and moved toward her.

Megan deflated. “Honey, can you hang your coat up?”

“ Later. You are more important.” He placed his hand on her thigh.

“ The hook is two feet away. It takes just as much effort to put it on the hook as it does to throw it on the floor.”

She watched a storm rise in Eric's eyes. “God, you are unbelievable!”

“ Please?”

“ I have been looking forward to this all day. You got me so worked up this morning, and the first thing you do when I walk through the door is nag me.”

The coat drew her attention like a magnet. Messes always had this affect on her. “Fine, I will do it.” She walked over, picked up his coat, and put it on the hook. She noticed Eric roll his eyes, and that only infuriated her.

When he reached to hold her, she simply walked away, saying, “Let's eat dinner.”

Eric looked sullen all through their meal, and afterwords had stormed into the TV room to watch a hockey game.

When Eric came to bed that night, he rolled onto his side and faced away from her, saying nothing.

All I need to do is touch him, she thought to herself. If I snuggle up behind him and put my arm around him, he will have an erection within minutes, and I can drift my hand down and start jerking him off. He will have his cock inside me in under ten minutes. All I have to do his touch him.

But this was his fault. He was acting like a surly teenager, refusing to hang up his coat, refusing to apologize, and now giving her the silent treatment. Fuck him — or rather — don't.

Megan rolled over and went to sleep.

Eric got home at six. After dinner, he had the courtesy to put his plate in the dishwasher, but started walking toward the TV room.

Megan looked at the pans that had been dirtied preparing dinner, and felt irritated that he expected her to do it. “Sweetie, can you help me with the dishes? If you can scrub the pans, I will get the rest.”

Eric said nothing, but took a station by the sink, and began filling it with hot water. Megan finished cleaning off the table and started on the counters, and then stopped.

Her attention was drawn by the way Eric's muscles moved as he scrubbed the pans. She caught herself cleaning the same section of the counter a second time, just so she could have a better angle watching his hands. Megan watched him scour their cast iron skillet, noticing the strength and precision of his fingers.

Megan sat down on one of the kitchen stools to watch him closer, and remembered how often those hands had pleasured her.

Eric had arrested Carmen's ex-boyfriend at his apartment the day after the attack. Chris had been charged with assault, but had posted bail. Eric called after Chris had left the jail. Since Megan had insisted that Carmen stay at her house for a few weeks, she had given Eric her phone number as a contact.

Carmen, as usual, was refusing to deal with the particulars of everyday life. She was a free spirit, their mother liked to say. She is an idiot, Megan would respond. She didn't really mean it. Carmen was her sister, and she loved her, but she could be so… impractical.

Eric recommended a restraining order. “He has a history of domestic abuse. He has three priors for assault. All girlfriends. The bad news is that he may not give up easily. The good news is that he is probably looking at prison time.”

“ Will Chris comply with a restraining order?”

“ I doubt it.”

“ Then why bother?”

“ Because it is crime to violate a restraining order. You don't have to wait for him to attack Carmen. He can get up to a year in jail just for showing up at the front door, and in a case where the subject is already being charged with assault, the judge will likely throw the book at him.”

They got the restraining order.

That Thursday evening, there had been a knock at Megan's door. She checked through the peephole, and didn't immediately recognize the man on the other side. It wasn't Chris, but he looked familiar. The man smiled, and she realized that it was Eric.

She hadn't recognized him because he had shaved his mustache.

Megan opened the door, suppressing her own smile. “How can we help you, detective?”

“ I just wanted to see how your sister was doing, to see if she had been bothered by her ex. Sometimes the victim doesn't call the police when there is contact, and I like to follow-up periodically.”

“ Carmen hasn't been contacted, have you — ” Megan looked over at Carmen, who was sitting on the couch. Carmen was biting her lower lip, looking sheepish. “Fuck, I guess you had better come in, detective.”

Chris had called Carmen's cell phone earlier that day, complaining about the restraining order, begging her to take him back. Eric said that one phone call wasn't enough to have Chris arrested, but that he would file the paperwork with the prosecutor who could send a legal warning and reminder. If Chris did it again, Eric personally promised he would arrest him.

Eric reminded Carmen to call the police if Chris contacted her again. But he looked at Megan during the reminder, obviously believing that Carmen might need help remembering. Megan nodded her understanding. “Detective Fletcher, we were just making supper. Would you care to join us?”

“ Thank you Dr. Cross, but I wouldn't want to impose.”

“ Please. You have been so thoughtful. Consider it our effort to support our police department.”

Carmen was looking at Megan with a shocked, teasing, expression.

Megan kicked her when the detective wasn't looking.

Eric accepted the invitation. Megan served Beef Stroganoff. Eric ate two servings, complimented her cooking, and thanked her profusely.

When he departed, Carmen burst out what she had been thinking. “Oh my God, you little slut, you are hitting on him!”

“ He has been nice to you. I wanted to say thank you.”

“ You like him.”

“ What's not to like?”

“ Didn't he have a mustache at the hospital?”

“ Yes. He shaved it.”

“ I wonder why he did that?”

“ Maybe somebody implied it looked gay.”

“ You didn't!”

It was Megan's turn to look sheepish.

Eric returned the next Monday. He asked again whether Chris had contacted Carmen. Carmen insisted he hadn't. Eric inspected their door locks, and with their approval, installed a deadbolt on the back door, using hardware he “just happened to have” in his car.

Megan knew this was going above and beyond in the “protect and serve” department. She made him a bacon and scallion risotto that was one of her secret weapons with guys. He loved it.

When he left, Carmen insisted that the detective's eyes had rarely left Megan all evening. Megan smiled at that.

On Thursday he stopped by once more. He brought a couple cans of pepper spray. “Just in case.”

Megan cooked steak.

“ You never cook steak,” Carmen had whispered.

“ Shush, you.”

When he readied to leave their house, Megan stopped him at the door. “Why don't you come over again Saturday Night, detective?”